Investment Q&A

Q: Can you please explain the losses in the big five Canadian Banks shares. I can’t for the following reasons so would appreciate your thoughts before I start to increase my exposure.

Their mtge portfolios are mostly insured , ultimately by the govt. the balance of their mtge loans are normally at significant discounts to the property values.

The new loans being made by the government will likely be backed by the government , not the banks.

They all have a long history of not cutting dividends, BMO has not in 190 years and BNS in 188 years and I expect the other three banks to be in the same approximate time frame of no dividend cuts . Unlikely you will find a US back or an Insurance company that can say the same.

They also over reserve their loan loss provisions in order to keep their profits from the wild fluctuations we see in the US.

Thanks

Q: Hi,
which two Canadian banks have the highest exposure to the energy sector? Same question but to the mining sector?
Thanks,
Dan

Q: Hi 5i
Earnings fast approaching for banks. If banks increase loan loss provisions do u see this as negative for banks and how do you see impact on BMO and LB share price over short/long term if this occurs.
Thx

Q: Hello Team,

Currently own ECN, down 15% on this one. I have been eyeing BMO for awhile now. Comparing BMO on a one year chart it lags and dropped the most from the other big banks, down roughly 35%. However, at roughly 68$ isn't it an attractive entry point?

Can you please explain why BMO lags? And second, would switching ECN to BMO be a good move or simply stick with ecn?

Thank you and have a good day!

Q: I depend on the big 5 banks and, to a lesser extent, the telecoms , for income reliability.
For example, I read recently that BMO has a 191 year (?) record of uninterrupted dividend paying.
Are you able to list the payout records for the other listed above.
Thank you

Q: Hi gang, I am looking into buying $11,000 for my daughters TFSA Acct. Should I buy $5500. BMO & 5500. SLF. Or 11,000. Zwb.And zwu or could you suggest me otherwise. Lots of time 15-20years. Open to any thoughts. Thanks be safe.
Alnoor

Q: Given that my Margin account has the 5 big banks and 2 Telecoms paying dividends on a periodic basis and that I'm not "too" concerned that these will cut their dividends, would it be wise to implement trailing stop loss orders for these in case there is another retest of the lows of March. Had I done that at the beginning of the year, I could have picked up the above at much reduce prices with resulting greater dividend yields. And would using the same procedure for my RIF account (which has mainly REITs) be beneficial to capture the current values to avoid further losses there.
Your comments. Thank you

Q: I have all 5 big banks and the 2 telecoms in my Margin Account for income purposes. I sold FRU and IPL because the dividend was reduced significantly. So I have some cash available to top up.
Given the Banks have Yields and Pay Out Ratios as follows (BMO 6.34% - 46.83%; BNS 5.90% - 44.47%; CM 7.49% - 36.67%; RY 5.25% - 44.84%; TD 5.82% - 44.76%) I am considering CM as the best yield and lowest Pay Out. Would you concur?
Thanks

Q: Hi,
Could you please comment on commercial impaired loan growth with respect to the Canadian banks prior to the Cov 19 crisis ? Have they increased their reserves appropriately ?
Thanks

Q: How much of an influence do American investors have on the price of our banks? Many Canadian investors have bank stocks and rely on their dividends for income.

Steve Eisman of "The Big Short" was talking about how an interesting short he sees is Canadian banks and that he has been short for some time. He says the Canadian banks have not had a credit cycle in 30 years, they are extremely unprepared for it and will have real problems.

What is your opinion?

Thanks!

Q: which one would you choose (could be possible more than 1 if must) and why?
thanks

Q: I would like your help putting together a yield portfolio of between 15 and 20 names.
This would be the entire investments for my wife and I. We are both retired and now live full-time in the U.S. And at some point I expect my Canadian newspaper pension to disappear, so I am looking to replace that money.
I would like your opinion of the above names with regard to safety of the income and overall diversification.
I would also appreciate some additional ideas and would like to know if I`m off base on any or all of these names.
I am currently only invested in CM, BNS and BMO and DIR.UN.
Please take 20 credits (or more).
Thank you in advance for your invaluable assistance.

Q: I feel I am to heavily weighted in these financials. Would you please rank them as to which ones you would keep and why. Thank You.

Q: Which of the big Canadian banks would have the most exposure to oil and gas companies?

Q: Hi. I see in many responses related to Canadian banks that when you reply that you prefer bank a, b, c over bank X, is the a, b, c in order of preference? Sometimes the order changes from different responses.
Would you be able to list the Canadian banks in order of preference for a 5-10 year hold. I understand that in 6 or 12 months the order may change, but I'm looking today what it would be. Thanks

Q: How do you rank these stocks for an investor starting a position in Canadian banks (minimum 5 year horizon)? Thanks.

Q: I have just read that the European Banks are going to stop paying dividends and that the US banks are under a lot of pressure to follow suit. Do you think that The Canadian Banks will also suspend dividends?

Q: Hi Peter & 5i,
Thank you for all your professional advice with your years of experience and calmness during this market turmoil.
My question is about bonds.
I have a portion of my fixed income in CBO.
Currently a retail investor can pick up some fixed income bond/debenture from the above mentioned banks with longer term maturities (say 2028 to 2030, they are callable between 2024 and 2026) with a 4% interest rate at current valuations (which are below $100). Even if they did get called then you would get the capital gain and the better interest rate for 4 to 6 years.
Do you think it would make sense to sell a bit of CBO and buy a few of these bank instruments in the current environment?
Your opinion is much appreciated. Thank you.

Q: Retired dividend-income investor. I currently own BNS and RY. I was planning on topping up BNS, then read an answer about harvesting capital losses. I had already take enough losses to cover my gains to look after 2020 income tax implications.
I selected BNS for its international diversification and RY for its USA diversification.

I am now considering harvesting my new BNS capital loss and was considering either CM or BMO for immediate replacement, wait a bit then do my original top-up later. Which bank to you consider the better replacement?

Thanks...Steve

Q: I am a buy and hold investor with 5 to 10 years of time horizon.
Have the following 7 stocks in Canadian financials in the order of their weights in our portfolio. Financials makeup roughly 7.5% of the total portfolio including cash positions and we like their dividend. TD, RY, BNS, BMO, SLF, CM, and MFC. I like to reduce exposure to financials and also like to reduce number of different shares. Two questions:
1. Is 7.5% a reasonable weight considering the current situation?
2. Which one of these I should sell to reduce financial weight and to reduce the number of shares in financials?